A couple of days ago Guild Wars 2 arguably received its biggest update to traits since the game launched. The system was streamlined, traits removed, improved or significantly changed. Every single profession received significant changes, though some more than others. Combined with the removal of attributes linked to trait lines, players now have the freedom to create truly diverse builds without fearing that they're crippling an area of their profession. As of right now Guild Wars 2's Meta is well and truly in the air and whilst some previously viable builds still work (Medi Guardian, Shoutbow Warrior or Shatter Mesmer) they all have a distinctly different flavour and there are now much more possibilities on the table. With that in mind and as has become customary in this Persistent Worlds column, I'd like to hear from you: what builds have you dreamt up and why are they working?

I'm feeling particularly generous today so the best builds linked in comments below will be rewarded with a fist full of gold (25 gold each build should do the trick!) though I must stress that I'll be testing each one for viability. Here are three of my favourites that I've created of so far:

Necromancer Life Steal - Incredible survivability, group healing whilst still providing high damage. I'm still experimenting with dropping the axe and taking staff, while slotting in some wells.

Survival Ranger - This build has changed very little and I've been using a previous version for the best part of a year. Fortunately now that the Longbow range and speed is standard, you can drop the Marksmanship trait line all together.

Mesmer Shatter - A variant on the original shatter build, now with extended stealth, eye watering damage and rediculous survivability.

There's no closing date to this competition so keep those builds coming!

To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our
Guild Wars 2
Game Page.